In the Bible there is a lot of talk about “fear of the Lord” or “fearing God.”

What does this mean? If God is supposed to be so loving and kind, why do we have to be afraid of Him?

Well, there is a difference between fear of God and being afraid of God. So let’s dive into the meaning of each one and find out!

Being Afraid of God:

Being afraid of God means that you are scared of what He can do, will do, might say, or any of His actions. You don’t trust Him in the moment and it’s often because of the consequences of your actions.

For example, in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve eat fruit that God said not to eat. They hid from Him because they were scared and realized they were naked. (Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hide from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8 NIV)

God asks why they were hiding and Adam said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:10 NIV)

And it wasn’t just because he was vulnerable that Adam was scared of God. He had disobeyed the one rule that God had put in place. And because of that, because he had sinned for the first time, it was a very scary feeling.

So he was afraid of God.

Fearing God:

But fearing God is different; it’s a reverence of the Lord.

One of the pastors speaking during Gather25 said, “I fear my wife because I respect her. I’m not afraid of her, but I don’t want to hurt her or break her heart. If I hurt her, she would be afraid of me and that would hurt me. I fear her and love her.”

The same is with God: He is an all-powerful God, the God who created the universe. He deserves respect, but he doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him. If we were afraid of Him, we wouldn’t form the relationship that He wants to have with us: a loving, close bond, like good friends, or a Father and His child.

How do we move from being afraid of God to fearing Him?

Read about His love. There are more accounts and Bible verses about God’s love and grace and forgiveness than there are of His wrath.

And pray! Ask Him to reveal His true, loving self. He’s not going to deny you that, even if it takes a few days, months, and even years.

Thanks for reading!
~Willow